23 April 2023
Searching for a beautiful African country where you can spend a luxury holiday? Tanzania is the answer. Below you can read about the finest tourist attractions in Tanzania.
Natural beauty is everywhere in Tanzania, and the chance to see wildlife here is unlike anything you will find anywhere else on earth.
A trip to Tanzania truly is a once in a lifetime holiday. If you are considering a visit, chances are you will want to squeeze as many tourist attractions as you can into your stay. If that sounds like you, you have come to the right place.
This guide walks you through 20 of the best tourist attractions Tanzania has to offer, so you can plan your luxury holiday with confidence. Want to know more? Then read on!
1. Serengeti National Park
To begin with, it almost goes without saying: a trip to Tanzania has to include the Serengeti. Together with Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti ranks among the biggest tourist attractions in Tanzania, and anyone who loves animals will feel at home here.
Millions of animals live on or pass through these enormous plains. The Big Five are found here, and the area is a very popular spot for game drives.
Only one park in the country is bigger, and this is where the famous wildebeest herds make their great trek every year. For plenty of travellers, a safari here is the sole purpose of their journey to Tanzania.
2. Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Looking for a place where immense natural beauty and plenty of wildlife come together? Then the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is where you should go. Thousands of animals live here, among them several of the Big Five.
In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area nature and wildlife are quite literally combined. The reason is that the main geographical attraction of the area is the Ngorongoro Crater itself.
At the same time, that crater is where all those thousands of animals we mentioned above actually live. This is one tourist attraction in Tanzania you really should not skip!
3. Tarangire National Park
For more animal encounters, Tarangire National Park is another superb choice.
This park suits travellers who are not especially focused on ticking off the Big Five, and who would rather watch more laid-back animals going about their lives in their natural surroundings.
The park is known across the world for its baobab trees: huge, strangely shaped and wonderful to look at.
If you plan to spend a good part of your holiday bird-watching, Tarangire is the national park to choose.
It is equally rewarding if migratory wildlife interests you, because buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and elephants all live within the park.
In fact, Tarangire has the highest concentration of elephants anywhere in the world, so if elephants are what you are after, this is where to go!
4. Lake Manyara National Park
By now it will be clear that national parks make up a large share of this list.
Tanzania is not a country you visit to sit indoors; you come here to surround yourself with nature. Lake Manyara National park is one of the best places to do exactly that.
The park is remarkably varied, with grasslands, swamps, woodlands and forests. Because a large share of the park is made up of water, it is the place to be if birds are your passion.
Lake Manyara also has the largest concentration of baboons on earth, so if you would like to watch these beautiful animals, think about including a visit.
5. Mount Kilimanjaro
Yet another major attraction in Tanzania is Mount Kilimanjaro. For a lot of people, the mountain is the main reason they come to Tanzania in the first place.
If climbing and hiking are your thing, climbing Kilimanjaro is the ultimate challenge, and plenty of people train for years to take it on.
Mount Kilimanjaro is certainly not an attraction for the faint-hearted, nor is it something you can decide to do on a whim.
With proper planning and preparation, though, it is well worth considering as part of your Tanzania holiday.
6. Beaches Of Zanzibar
The crystal clear water and sparkling white sand of Zanzibar are famous already, so we will keep this short.
What we will say is this: do not leave Tanzania without visiting at least one of these beaches. Skip them and you will regret it later!
Paje, Jambiani, Kendwa and Nungwi are four of the island's finest stretches of sand, and each is a wonderful base from which to explore.
7. Stone Town
Staying with Zanzibar, Stone Town deserves a mention. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is not hard to see why: it is completely unique and quite unlike anything else in this list. We certainly recommend a visit!
While you are in the area, Changuu Island (also known as Prison Island) is worth a visit too if you want to get a deeper feel for the country's history.
8. Julius Nyerere National Park
Before it was renamed Julius Nyerere National park, this area went by the name Selous Game Reserve. At the time it was the largest game reserve on the African continent, and it takes up roughly 5% of the country's total surface.
The area has been a game reserve since the 1920s, and even now there are parts of it that remain off limits to humans. Today, of course, it is a National Park rather than a game reserve.
More than 350 recorded species live in Julius Nyerere National Park, and the landscape is truly beautiful. Setting aside a day of your holiday to explore it is well worth it.
9. Ruaha National Park
Before Selous was upgraded to become Julius Nyerere National Park, the title of Tanzania's biggest national park belonged to Ruaha.
The scenery here is stunning, and there are superb lookout points from which you can observe animals going about their lives undisturbed.
Ruaha is among the hardest National Parks in Tanzania to reach, but that remoteness only adds to its charm.
Visiting as a tourist is possible with a guide who knows the way, and that is usually a sensible choice given how remote Ruaha National Park is.
10. Mikumi
Tanzania really is full of National Parks, and Mikumi is another one that draws many visitors to the country.
Many different animals make their home in Mikumi, among them zebras, buffalo, elephants and more.
Of all the National Parks in Tanzania, Mikumi is the best one for lions. Tree-climbing lions in particular: nowhere in Tanzania are your chances of spotting lions up a tree higher than here.
So it is definitely worth a visit!
11. Gombe Stream National Park
Anyone with an interest in chimpanzees will probably have heard of Gombe Stream National Park.
The park is best known for its association with British conservationist Jane Goodall and the chimpanzee research she carried out here.
For chimps in their natural habitat, this is the national park to visit.
Getting there takes a little effort, but a guided walk through the forest lets you soak up the surroundings and, with a bit of luck, meet a few chimpanzees along the route.
12. Mafia Island
Visiting Mafia Island feels, to many, like travelling into the past. Tourism grew elsewhere in the country, but this island was left alone, and that is precisely why it remains so lovely today.
If diving or snorkelling appeals to you, Mafia Island is a must during your holiday. The waters are full of many kinds of fish, and there are coral gardens as well.
It is ideal for anyone who likes to spend their time in and around the water. Mafia Island also has a whale shark season, so if diving with whale sharks is on your list, this is a great place to do it.
13. Pemba Island
Zanzibar's beaches rank among the most beautiful in the world, but for blue seas and sandy shores Pemba Island certainly deserves a visit too!
The island has far more than sea and sand to offer: lush greenery covers much of it, and clove plantations are part of the landscape.
Around Pemba Island, the sea is full of coral reefs and a wide range of marine life.
So on the crossing to Pemba Island you are likely to spot all kinds of wildlife you would never see if you stayed on the Tanzanian mainland.
14. Dar es Salaam
Nearly everything covered so far has been about nature, but Dar es Salaam offers something of a different kind.
Dar is the biggest city in Tanzania, and we would certainly encourage you to work a visit into your trip!
The city itself has plenty of attractions, including the Open Air Village Museum, and it offers a great chance to explore a built-up city in a country that most people associate with nature.
Make room for a visit to Dar in your Tanzania itinerary if you can.
15. Materuni Waterfalls
A guide like this would not be complete without Materuni Waterfalls. The falls are found in the Kilimanjaro region, so if a hike up the mountain is part of your plans, a detour to see them is easy to arrange.
Besides admiring the beautiful falls, you can also join a coffee tour in the area. If you love natural beauty and you love coffee, this attraction was made for you!
16. Mbeya
Much like Dar, which we covered earlier, Mbeya is a city we would certainly recommend if urban visits are part of your Tanzania plans.
Mbeya lies in the Southwest of Tanzania, at the foot of the Mbeya and Poroto Mountain Ranges.
Here man-made and natural beauty sit side by side, and the city feels very different from the ones you might visit in other countries.
With its green lakes, dramatic waterfalls and the garden of God, Mbeya is completely unique and well worth a visit if you are nearby.
17. Udzungwa Mountains National Park
If you would like to experience a whole range of habitats in one place, Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a great choice.
Within this one National Park you will find rainforest, mountain forest, woodland, grassland and steppe. For anyone who wants to be surrounded by nature, it is well worth the trip.
That goes double if you are keen to see a wide variety of birds, and monkeys as well!
18. Bagamoyo
For a look at Tanzania's history, we would suggest a visit to Bagamoyo. This historic coastal town was founded in the 1700s and is genuinely beautiful.
Anyone keen to understand the country's past a little better would do well to make room for Bagamoyo on their itinerary.
During your visit you can also learn a great deal about the slave trade that took place in Bagamoyo, as this is the place from which slaves were shipped to Zanzibar.
19. Kikuletwa Hot Springs
Kikuletwa Hotsprings is another calm and tranquil spot. The springs lie along Arusha and Moshi and are essentially an oasis in the jungle.
The water here has a lovely turquoise shade, ideal for your Instagram feed. It is equally good for swimming, unwinding and simply enjoying the natural surroundings.
This is a real hidden gem that few people talk about.
20. Mwanza And Lake Victoria
Lastly, we would suggest visiting Mwanza and Lake Victoria. The lake stretches across several African countries and is a very popular tourist destination.
The Tanzanian shores of Lake Victoria, however, are among the least visited, so why not make the most of that?
It is the very same lake you would see in Kenya and Uganda, only much quieter. So why not enjoy the calm and explore Mwanza while you are there?
Summary
To sum up, this guide has covered 20 of the best tourist attractions in Tanzania. If a luxury holiday is on the cards, these are well worth building into your trip.
Thank you for reading!
